By Megan Gordon
The situation at Power Exchange, the San Francisco venerable sex club that has been battling with city officials and their neighbors, hasn’t changed much since we last wrote about it. “We’re bogged down in the mire of bureaucratic red tape. No one’s doing anything but a professional job, but it’s taking forever,” owner Michael Powers said.
If anything, the past few weeks have brought about changes and developments that seem to be slowing things down even further. “Planning just needs to send a letter to the Fire Department saying we’re not prohibited from being in there. The Fire Department is ready to put it in our hands,” Powers said. But Lawrence Badiner, planning inspector who was dealing with the situation, recently handed over responsibilities to fellow inspector Dario Jones. At press time, Jones was not available for comment.
In addition to a shuffling of responsibility within the Planning Department, on Oct. 13, Powers filed for a new building permit that would change the assembly definition from a nightclub to a social hall. When asked why he did this or what it will mean for the business, Powers replied, “The permit is based on Badiner’s interpretation—it’s the closest thing they have to match what our business really is. It’s just a matter of interpretation of language: a nightclub implies there’s activity like amplified music or organized entertainment. We don’t fit under all of those code sections. The idea with a social club is we’re no different than, say, an Elks Lodge.”